On Sunday, only 813 out of 1,563 eligible candidates took the re-exam for the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG). This means about 52% of the candidates appeared, while 750 candidates, or roughly 48%, were absent. The exam, which lasted three and a half hours, was held across seven centers in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Meghalaya, and Chandigarh.
The Supreme Court had ordered the re-test for these candidates after it was discovered that grace marks were given out in a non-transparent manner by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Previously, 67 candidates had scored a perfect 720/720 due to these grace marks.
Chhattisgarh had the highest number of students eligible for the re-test. At the Swami Atmanand Utkrist Hindi Medium Government Girls High School in Dantewada, 417 candidates were eligible, but only 176 showed up. At the DAV Ispat Senior Secondary Public School in Balod, out of 185 eligible candidates, 115 appeared.
In Haryana, the DAV Police Public School in Jhajjar was the center for 312 eligible candidates, with 178 attending the re-test. At the Kendriya Vidyalaya in Jhajjar, 182 candidates were eligible, but only 109 took the exam.
In Meghalaya, 464 candidates were eligible to retake the NEET at Don Bosco College in Tura, and 234 candidates attended. In Gujarat, just one candidate sat for the re-test at Mount Litera Zee School in Surat. In Chandigarh, two candidates were eligible, but both were absent.
According to the Supreme Court’s order, candidates who skipped the re-exam would have their original scores minus the grace marks considered. For those who appeared, their revised scores from the re-exam would be used.
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The re-test was held a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the NEET-UG exam held on May 5. This followed a complaint from the Education Ministry amid student protests over allegations of a paper leak. Sixty-three candidates have been banned due to irregularities in NEET, including 17 from Bihar and 30 from Godhra, Gujarat.
A seven-member reform committee, led by former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, has been formed to investigate the lapses by the NTA. The committee will submit its report in two months and will recommend ways to strengthen the exam mechanisms.
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